It’s been five
years since we first surveyed our readers about their favorite restaurants,
destinations and activities. Little did we know this contest would
be as popular as it has become. We have seen the results reported in
other media, we’ve spied
our certificates hanging in businesses across the state and
we’ve
noted with pride when recipients tout the honor in their own
marketing materials.

Best
winery: Stone Hill Winery

Another thing we
never expected was the consistency of the results. Year after year,
the same establishments have topped their respective categories with
uncanny regularity.
At times, we’ve wondered if some of the winners were encouraging
their customers to mail in contest forms. We’ve even joked among
ourselves about restaurants using our entry form as placemats or offering
free dessert with a completed entry. But all kidding aside, we’ve
always believed our results reflected nothing more than loyal patrons
expressing their true preferences.

And that’s
the beauty of this contest. It is not our opinion that matters. The
results aren’t
based on advertising or PR campaigns. The winners of this contest receive
recognition because you, the reader, care enough to send in an entry
form in support of restaurants, attractions and destinations you enjoy.

One
lucky contest participant, Crystal Hornibrook of Kimberling City,
won our drawing for a made-in-Missouri gift basket valued at $500.
But all the other readers who completed our survey share in the satisfaction
of knowing they helped crown “The Best of Rural Missouri” for
this, our contest’s
fifth year.

Apparently, our readers
know what they like to eat. Lambert’s Café,
the “Home of the Throwed Roll,” has taken first place five
years running. Beside its projectile baked goods, Lambert’s earns
kudos for heaping portions of tasty down-home cooking.

Dining
worth the drive: Lambert's Café

The Pear Tree
in Bevier also owns its second-place berth in this category. The steaks
and fried lobster are legendary and the onion rings and salad dressing
can’t be beat.

Charley’s Buffet
is only open on Friday and Saturday and just for supper. They’re
known for their fried chicken but roast beef, ham and other entrees
fill the buffet, too. The breads are homemade and the dessert bar is
packed with as many as 50 items.

Editor’s choice: If the drive
is part of the experience, the River’s
Edge in Morrison is hard to top, especially if you come from Hermann,
about 15 miles to the east. The ferry ride across the Gasconade River
is memorable but so are the ribs, Cajun-style shrimp and flowerpot
bread served at this laid-back eatery. (573) 294-7207.

Johnny’s certainly
deserves the customer loyalty award. We figure the buffet is what keeps
Johnny’s patrons so satisfied. When faced with such
a smorgasbord there’s no reason to go away hungry.

The Hickory Log
is a Missouri institution, known nationwide for its dry-rub ribs. The
restaurant sells about 3,000 pounds of ribs each week at its Dexter
location, but it also ships meat to loyal customers around the nation.

Breakfast:
The Coffee Pot, Licking

The Chuck Wagon’s
motto is “the best I’ve ever had,” a
phrase repeated so often by diners the slogan stuck. Open only Thursday
through Sunday during tourist season, and less in the winter. Editor’s
choice: It always surprises us that Kansas City’s legendary
smokehouses don’t fare better in our contest. We suppose that
just means our readers tend to avoid the big cities. In that spirit
we’ll recommend a place close enough for the Rural Missouri
staff to make a lunchtime run. Lutz’s BBQ serves ribs and sandwiches
from a small trailer alongside the Lowe’s home center in Jefferson
City. What Lutz’s lacks in ambiance, it makes up for with delicious
smoked meats and the best fresh fried potato chips you’ve ever
tasted. (573) 353-4990.

This is a new category
and one that saw a lot of different nominations, with no clear front
runner. Apparently, people don’t venture
far from home for breakfast.

All our winners are
down-home gathering spots where you can learn the latest news around
town served with biscuits and gravy or a plate of eggs.

The Coffee Pot
in Licking earns high marks for its made-from-scratch dishes. Sullivan’s
Du Kum Inn is best known for its fried chicken and bread pudding,
but we hear breakfast is pretty good, too. Mel’s Country Café in
Jefferson City serves breakfast all day.

Dessert:
A Slice of Pie, Rolla

Editor’s choice: Kay's
Restaurant in Osage Beach serves all-you-can-eat but instead of dipping
into trays of food on a steam table, patrons order another round of food
from the menu. (573) 348-2217.

This year we combined
two previous categories — Best Pie and Best Old-Fashioned
Ice Cream — into a single dessert category. Our readers seem
to prefer pie to ice cream. Given the choice, we like ice cream on
our pie.

A Slice of Pie has
won our Best Pie category three years running. What-ever the filling,
if you can put it between two layers of crust this place probably offers
it. We have one bit of advice for those visiting The Blue Owl in Kimmswick:
Eat dessert first. The heaping meringues and overstuffed pies are not
to be missed. Finally, if you like ice cream there are few better places
to enjoy a cone or cup than Central Dairy’s old-fashioned
counter in Jefferson City.

Editor’s choice: Sedalia’s
Ivy Cottage Tea Room is relatively new but already has established
a reputation for scrumptious desserts. (660) 826-6600.

LeMaire’s has
always been a favorite of the Rural Missouri staff. We try to stop
there when we’re in town for the state fair. Our second and
third place winners likewise offer fried catfish with all the fixin’s.
It’s simple food but, oh, so good.

Editor’s choice: Another
great catch for catfish is Acleda’s
Korner Kitchen in Raymondville. Expect down-home cooking served fresh
and hot with old-fashioned sides. (417) 457-6352.

Our first place winner,
Dixon’s, has served its signature dry-style
chili to Kansas City area residents since 1919. Casper’s serves
an overflowing bowl of hearty chili with onions and cheese piled high.
Chili is not actually on the menu at P.J.’s but is usually served
as a weekend special, often with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Microbrewery:
Flat Branch Pub and Brewing, Columbia

Editor’s
choice: We received a surprising number of faxes for Uncle Rooster’s
in Seymour. We checked it out while in the area and found a roadside
eatery featuring Chicago-style hot dogs. Rooster’s chili was a
highlight to the meal. (417) 935-4120.

Stroud’s, our
first place winner, is a Kansas City institution known across the nation
for its pan-fried chicken and heaping bowls of sides. Cookin' from
Scratch in Newburg took second in our contest last year as well. The
chicken and fixin’s at Westphalia Inn are served family-style.

Editor’s choice: The Claysville Store, located along the Katy
Trail, between Hartsburg and Jefferson City, has a reputation for some
of the best fried chicken around. It is possible to drive there, but
for the full experience, arrive by bike. (573) 636-8443.

The winners in this
category are no surprise, considering they are among the state’s
biggest producers, and their products are found in grocery stores across
Missouri.

Stone Hill, our first
place winner deserves much of the credit for revitalizing the state’s wine industry in the 1960s and continues
to school the rest of the state’s producers on how a winery should
operate. Runner-up St. James is actually Missouri’s top wine
producer. Its facilities along Interstate 44 lack some of the charm
of Stone Hill’s Hermann location,
but the company offers quality wines for every taste, as well as several
non-alcoholic products. Third-place Les Bourgeois offers a fabulous view
from a bluff overlooking the Missouri River.

Editor’s choice: Mount
Pleasant Winery in Augusta earns recognition for its own role in the rebirth
of Missouri’s wine industry and for a wide
selection of wines. Their Missouri River Valley scenery isn’t bad either.
1-800-467-9463.

A new category
this year, Best Microbrewery recognizes the popularity of small-scale brewers.
Flat Branch Pub in Columbia sets the standard for a Missouri microbrew house,
offering dozens of ales, beers and ciders brewed on site, plus interesting
lunch and dinner meals.

AgriMissouri
Product: Burger's Smokehouse, California

The brewing equipment
is prominently displayed at Springfield Brewing Company, a microbrewery
launched by the Paul Mueller Company, a Missouri-based supplier of
stainless steel tanks and equipment to the brewing and winemaking industry.
Not surprisingly, the Springfield Brewing Company is one of the most
technologically advanced brewpubs in the world.

With their products
on grocers’ shelves throughout the state we’re
not sure that Boulevard Brewing Company still qualifies as a microbrewery.
It’s pretty good beer, though, and the readers have spoken.

Editor’s
choice: Hermann Brewing Company is the only brewery in a town best known
for wine. Besides producing a variety of small batch beers, brew master
Joe Hoefle also offers Beer School 101, a workshop for would-be home-brewers.
(573) 486-4677.

Burger’s boasts
the nation’s largest selection of hickory-smoked
meats, which it sells through a mail order catalog and Web site. A visitor’s
center features impressive dioramas depicting the four seasons.

Taste
of the Kingdom (as in Kingdom of Callaway) offers a delicious variety
of jellies and sauces, all with a bit of kick from cayenne, jalapeno
or habanero peppers. It’s good stuff!
Memory Lane Dairy sells farm fresh milk in glass bottles. You can’t
get much more refreshing or wholesome than that!

Editor’s choice:
We may be stretching the term AgriMissouri, but we can’t
help but appreciate the long-term success of East Wind Nut Butters.
The worker cooperative, operated by members of Tecumseh’s East
Wind commune, does a booming business selling all-natural peanut butter,
cashew butter, almond butter and other products on the Internet at
www.eastwindnutbutters.com.

There’s a lot
more to Ha Ha Tonka State Park than castle ruins. The 3,600-acre park
south of Lake of the Ozarks also offers towering bluffs, a natural
bridge, caves and 15 miles of trails through a diverse landscape of
woods and savanna. A lot of visitors come to Meramec State Park to
float the river, but other activities include camping, fishing, nature
trails and guided tours of Fisher Cave. A state trout hatchery and
100 million gallons of spring-fed water each day make Bennett Spring
State Park a Mecca for Missouri trout anglers.

Editor’s choice:
Since our readers concentrated on state parks, we’ll
suggest a state historic site. Few such sites offer as much to see as our
state
Capitol complex here in Jefferson City. The Capitol building
itself overwhelms visitors with its beauty and there’s so much
to see inside. From January through May you can watch the legislature
in action. Otherwise, visit the museums and take the free tour so you
can see the Thomas Hart Benton mural. The nearby Jefferson Landing
site and the State
Supreme Court Building are worth a visit as well.
(573) 751-3475.

Apple-peeling, nail-driving,
log-sawing, face painting and bubble-gum blowing contests are just
a few of the activities at past Old Tyme Apple Festivals in Versailles.
This year’s event, scheduled for Oct. 7, will include
a car cruise, fiddler’s contest and parade.

Hermann’s Oktoberfest
used to get out of hand, with revelers enjoying the town’s wine a
bit too much. These days, the festival, held the first four weekends in
October, is more appropriately focused on celebrating the region’s
German heritage.

Most
beautiful town: Hermann

History comes alive,
Aug. 18-20, as St. Charles celebrates its role in early American settlement
and exploration.

We’re not sure
the readers really understood what we were looking for with this new
category. When we asked for “oddities and curiosities along
the way,” we had in mind the kinds of unexpected places that you
happen across and just have to stop. Instead, the readers chose some
fairly major attractions.

Elephant Rocks State
Park is one of Missouri’s
neatest destinations and the Department of Natural Resources should
be commended for making these granite pachyderms enjoyable for all.
An easy walking trail is accessible by the disabled and even features
Braille markings for the blind.

The Gateway Arch
is certainly an attraction and it is along a road. What more can we
say? If you’ve never
been to the top, shame on you!

Exotic Animal Paradise
is a drive-through park where the animals occasionally come right to
your window to greet you.

Best
place to take the kids: Branson

Editor’s choice: We were thinking of
slices of Americana, such as “The
World’s Largest Pecan” in Brunswick or Max, “The
World’s
Largest Goose,” in Sumner. But as notable as these are, we
nominate the Jim The Wonder Dog Memorial Garden in Marshall. The
local garden club has done an outstanding job creating a lovely
setting to honor Missouri’s
most amazing pup. A series of placards around the garden recall
the fascinating tale of this incredible hound.

Prudence tells us
to take the coward’s approach and not comment
too much on this category. Her-mann offers the charm of old Germany
and beautiful vineyards in the hills above town. Carthage has a beautiful
courthouse square and lovely parks. St. Charles boasts a historic
downtown full of restored early 19th-century buildings.

Editor’s
choice: We know better than to go there. No matter where you live
there’s few places more beautiful than home.

Seems like our readers
like to stay at upscale places. Big Cedar Lodge is all you’d
expect from Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris — first
class in every way, a lovely setting and rustic but opulent accommodations.

Hometown
Hero Site — Harry S. Truman Library & Museum, Independence

One of the best-known
resorts in the state, Tan-Tar-A has it all, from golf to parasailing.
There’s even an indoor water park for the
kids.

The perennial winner
in our former “Best Bed and Breakfast” category,
The School House B&B is just the place for couples who don’t
need boat docks and tennis courts for entertainment.

Editor’s choice:
If you want to get away from it all, head to Wildwood
Springs Lodge in
Steelville. The evening meals are outstanding and the lodge itself is
charming. The rooms lack TVs and telephones and cell phones don’t
work here. The lodge’s summer and fall concert series features
popular 1970s folk rock entertainers performing in an intimate setting.
(573) 775-2400.

You’ll learn
about a tumultous time in U.S. history and get a real sense for the
man when you visit the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. Now is the
perfect time to go as the 50-foot-long White House in Miniature is
on display through July 9.

You’ll get
your fill of Mark Twain with a trip to Hannibal, where period homes
commemorate the author Samuel Clemens’ boyhood and recreate the
sights familiar to fictional character Tom Sawyer.

Laura Ingalls Wilder
wrote all of her “Little House” books right
here in Mansfield.

It doesn’t
seem fair that the entire town of Branson takes on individual attractions
around the state. But, there is no place in Missouri that offers as
much fun and entertainment for families as Branson. It’s not
just about music shows any more.

Rodeo/Horse
Show — The American Royal, Kansas City

The St. Louis Zoo
is a world-class attraction. The River's Edge, an “immersion
exhibit” of animals in recreated natural environments, makes
it more so. World’s of Fun offers some of the best roller coasters
in the state.

Editor’s choice: In our view, none of the man-made
water parks can compare to nature’s version, Johnson’s
Shut-Ins State Park. It will be interesting to see how the park faired
following the collapse of Taum Sauk Dam. (573) 546-2450.

Throughout October
and into November, the American Royal is home to everything equine.
There are livestock shows, rodeos and show horse competitions. The
judging and competitions at the Missouri State Fair, Aug. 10-20, are
the highlight of the year for many horse enthusiasts. The Sikeston
Bootheel Rodeo, Aug. 9-12, is a major Pro Rodeo event and features
big name musical entertainment each night.

Editor’s choice: The
Huntsville Horse Show, June 30 to July 1, is one of the oldest outdoor
horse shows in the nation. (573) 696-3601.

The Eminence trail
rides were our readers’ runaway favorites.
We would attend a Cross Country Trail Ride event just for the food,
but horse enthusiasts go to enjoy the beauty of the Mark Twain National
Forest and to take part in these colossal equestrian gatherings.

Horses are only allowed
on the western portion of the Katy Trail, between Calhoun and the state
fairgrounds in Sedalia. Riders must appreciate the access, as it’s
a perennial favorite in our contest.

Roadside
Attraction: Elephant Rocks State Park

We have a tie for
third place. Bear Creek is a private horse ranch near Branson. Glade
Top Trail passes through a rugged portion of the Mark Twain Forest
near Ava.

Editor’s choice: Most trail rides are aimed at experienced
riders. Those who need a little instruction might head to Lake
of the Ozarks State Park, where the park stables offers guided rides for beginners
and experienced riders alike. (573) 348-6670.

Arrow Rock’s
Lyceum is a genuine summer stock venue with professional actors working
alongside local talent.

The Fox rightly deserves
its “fabulous” moniker.
You could go just to admire the architecture but while you’re
there you might as well take in the shows.

The stage adaptation
of Harold Bell Wright’s novel has been running
at the Shepherd of the Hills Theater since 1959, but audiences
never tire of it.

Editor’s choice: We tip our hat to the City
of Maples Repertory Theatre in Macon, which first brought professional
theater to this north Missouri town in 2004. This year’s line-up
includes four shows from June through July. (660) 385-2924.